Sexual Behavior of Teenagers - Essay Example

Sexual Behavior of Teenagers Sexual behavior in adolescence is actually influenced by some complex set of connections among biology and genetics, personality characteristics, individual perceptions, as well as socio-cultural values and norms. This essay will be focusing on how our brain responds to our adolescence in a sexual capacity and what are the necessary steps that need to be taken in order to control such erroneous behavior. This paper will also include some accurate sources of information which are perceived as accurate by teens. How they use that information in their adolescence in order to have a stable life and what are different kinds of activities one should involve in order to stay away from sexual desire until the accurate time, when they are strong enough to handle themselves and the relationship. Sexual Behavior in Adolescents A teenager’s brain develops a bit unevenly, from the back to the front, from the very beginning of adolescence through their mid-20s. This might help in explaining their endearingly strange behavior, but it also makes them move towards taking risk. Everyone is aware of the fact of how important it is to guide and to nurture toddlers, when their brains are in the development phase at warp speed. But the question is how the development phase of a teen’s brain is handled. Now everyone is becoming aware of the fact that, just like toddlers, adolescents also go through quite similar waves of key developments. Between the ages of 13 and 25, the brain is going through a pruning and escalating process (Nagel, 2005) Within this time period, the brain cells, as well as neural connections which are not used appropriately, are cut back and die. however the ones which are used the most get stronger. This latest knowledge, related to the development of the brain in adolescence, clearly explains the reason of the importance of parent’s encouragement for their child at their teenage years to get involved in healthy activities. It is simply a directly proportional formula, that is, the more time a teen spends learning and engaged in activities such as music or swimming, the stronger their brain gets. It is similar to the connections used while mastering a sport, playing video games and/or watching some documentary. Ironically, in this duration when the teen’s brain is growing through a rapid development and getting influence by outside forces on a physical, cognitive, social and emotional level, teen’s want to experiment, especially with drugs or sex. Why is that so? One of the main reasons could be that the specific brain area that deals in making judgment of complex issues (Prefrontal Cortex) is not matured completely, which ultimately comes under pressure by other regions such as motivational and emotional (Hypothalamus and Amygdala), which are quite mature (Nagel, 2005). Scientists believe that this characteristic of brain development in teenagers makes it very clear of why sometimes these young people use poor judgmental skills and also lack in fine impulse control (Noar, 2002). It is quite possible that any decision taken by a teen now might affect them for the rest of their life but the reason for that decision might mostly be due to the massive changes taking place in their brains and lack of guidance to navigate those changes. For instance, brain scans have linked excessive use of alcohol with low memory functioning (Nagel, 2005). In order to keep the teen’s self esteem high and self-concept strong, we need to make sure that the teen feels that they are important and are valued in society, as well as giving them a feeling that they are welcomed in it, the sense of belongingness needs to be there. Also they need to have role models with positive attitude. There are many examples that state that children are mostly engaged with similar gender friends in sexual activity that is considered to be a normative part of their development (Almeida, Johnson, Corliss, Molnar, & Azrael, 2009). As soon as a child reaches adolescence, they find themselves engaged in sexual action with different girls and/or boys which can be considered a way to test sexual feelings of their own. Even though sexual orientation is assumed to be firm before adolescence, its expression might have been postponed till early adulthood or for an indefinite time period, making it quite difficult to calculate approximately the occurrence of bisexuality and homosexuality among adolescence (Almeida et al, 2009). Ambiguity with respect to sexual orientation might reduce during the years of adolescence, with parallel increases in heterosexual and homosexual affiliation. Sexual orientation pervasiveness estimates vary between different adults with operational explanation of homosexuality (Almeida et al, 2009).  One of the most important tasks for adolescents is to turn into an adult who is sexually healthy. This can be done by encouraging sexual health development in adolescence by providing precise information regarding sexuality, nurturing decision-making, communication skills and responsibly, as well as offering assistance and guidance for young people in order to explore sexual behavior by developing positive sexual values (Noar, 2002). This can also be done by encouraging communication between parents and their children who are reaching adolescent in certain ways which can enhance sexual health while discouraging unsafe sexual behavior (Hendriksen, 2007). Adolescents need to be restrained from sexual activity till the time they are emotionally, physically and mentally prepared for a mature sexual relationship along with the possible consequences of them such as unplanned pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). They should be properly educated about intimacy, benefit of abstinences, limit setting for sexual desires, contraception, confrontation to harmful sexual pressures, pregnancy delays and avoidance of STI’s. Since quite a number of adolescents are and will be active sexually, guidance and support should be provided for developing skills so that they can personally assess their readiness for sexual relationship responsibly. Research has revealed that adolescents acquire the information regarding sexual health from a number of different sources (Vo, 2008). It is also observed that whenever teens are inquired about the information sources they value the most regarding safe sex and birth control, they mostly report acquiring it from their friends, cousins and siblings, parents, health care and clinical practitioners. For the reason that teens value their adults as source of information, it is quite essential for parents, as well as healthcare practitioners, to start conversations and share accurate and timely information with adolescents, before they acquire information from other sources that are possibly less reliable. Interventions, which are office based, possibly contribute most in the reduction of risks and hazards and promote sexual health within young people. This is quite true when it is in concert with other attempts from schools, families and communities. Noar (2002) explains some key characteristics of multilevel efforts which are quite successful in order to prevent pregnancy as well as to promote adolescent’s sexual health. Building skills in office based involvements are quite effective and are quite significant since adolescents usually are found to be involved in dismissing their own elder’s guidance, though they tend to listen attentively and actively to what practitioners have to share. Whether or not such communications influences the adolescent’s process of changing behavior, will depend heavily on the accuracy of the information presented and the skills required in connecting and comprehending readiness and perspective for change in a specific young person. Since there are some teens who consider their adults as an information source, those adults should keep an open door for support and ongoing conversation. Therefore, enabling an adolescent to explore his/her sexuality in pre-sexualized conversation(s) rather than learning it through unhealthy sexual experimentation(s) can be a more positive influence on their overall sexual behavior. In conclusion, sexual behavior in adolescents is a difficult matter to moderate; however, there is still a responsibility for adults in their lives to help facilitate proper sexual conduct in adolescence for the benefit of the adolescent and social communities as a whole. Surely, there is no approach that will totally stop sexual activities among adolescents but at least in guiding adolescents through their developmental stage, it will help reduce it as well as deal with their sexuality and prepare those who engage in it of the possible consequences. References Almeida, J., Johnson, R. M., Corliss, H. L., Molnar, B. E., & Azrael, D. (2009). Emotional distress among LGBT youth: The influence of perceived discrimination based on sexual orientation. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 38(7), 1001-1014. Hendriksen, E. S., Pettifor, A., Lee, S. J., Coates, T. J., & Rees, H. V. (2007). Predictors of condom use among young adults in South Africa: The reproductive health and HIV research unit national youth survey. American Journal of Public Health, 97(7), 1241. Nagel, B.J., Schweinsburg, A.D., Phan, V., & Tapert, S.F. (2005). Reduced hippocampal volume among adolescents with alcohol use disorders without psychiatric comorbidity: Adolescent Brain Development, 139(3), 181-190. Noar, S. M. (2002). Reducing unintended pregnancy among adolescents: Authors did not give balanced interpretation of their findings. BMJ: British Medical Journal, 325(7367), 777. Vo, D. X., & Park, M. J. (2008). Racial/ethnic disparities and culturally competent health care among youth and young men. American Journal of Men's Health, 2(2), 192-205. Read More